Brendan Fraser talks being in the 'wilderness' in rousing Critics Choice Awards speech as he marks return with best actor win

As Brendan Fraser gave his acceptance speech for his best actor award for the role of Charlie in The Whale, it would be easy to forget about the humanising aspect of the person he is portraying.

Charlie is obese and isolated and depressed after losing his relationship with his daughter. It charts a man on the brink of despair who seeks salvation. For the actor, Brendan Fraser, his ability to tap into Charlie's psyche was recognised instantly by the writer and director Darren Aronofsky.

The director said he came across a trailer for the Brazilian thriller Journey to the End of the Night starring Fraser and knew he had found his perfect protagonist.

The vulnerability that Brendan Fraser can give to Charlie's story must be greatly aided by the actor's own difficult 12-year hiatus from Hollywood. He had no major film role during this time.

Fraser revealed the precise moment he decided to step back from the movie business, which was filming a scene for the universally panned 2010 film Furry Vengeance which involved a porta-potty inverting with the actor inside.

"I think it was the night that I was shooting a scene wherein I was being mauled by a bear and I was in a porta potty and the porta potty got inverted and I was on my head and all this Gatorade and stuff dropped on my head and it made me have a conversation with myself really quick about, "Is this worth it?" Maybe I should reprioritise myself and stop working with animals."

The actor has turned his challenges into positives. As he said in an emotional Critics Choice speech, "This movie, The Whale is about love, it's about redemption, and it's about finding the light in a dark place.

"Darren Aronofsky, I was in the wilderness, and I probably should have left a trail of breadcrumbs but you found me, and like all the best directors you merely just showed me where to go to get to where I needed to be."

Brendan was known for his action films in his 20s and 30s, starring in The Mummy and George of the Jungle. His emotional range was always present, as he demonstrated in Gods and Monsters, but he was drawn to or was typecast in more high-energy, action parts.

And then the body started to have injuries, or as he says, "I stepped back for reasons that include that I had some chips and things in the paint", as he underwent surgery for his knee and spine due to his stunts on set.

He also, as has been widely reported, spoke out when he was sexually assaulted by a Hollywood executive. He boycotted the Golden Globes due to this fact, despite being nominated for best actor.

Meanwhile his personal life was in free-fall as he divorced his wife, Afton Smith, the mother of his three sons.

After nine years of marriage, Brendan’s publicist announced that the actor and Afton were divorcing in 2007. The divorce was finalised two years later, after Brendan was reportedly ordered to pay $50,000/month in alimony and $25,000/month in child support.

In 2011, Brendan petitioned with the courts for a reduction on his alimony payments and claimed that he couldn’t afford it, according to Radar Online. Afton later reportedly accused Brendan of fraud and alleged that he was hiding assets from his movies.

Brendan and Afton share custody of their children. Brendan told GQ in 2018 that his sons live with their mother in Greenwich, Connecticut, a short distance from his home in Bedford, New York. "They’re here all the time," he said.

The ability of Fraser to turn his life around has come from a reflection on where he wanted his intentions to be.